The kiwifruit or ‘Chinese Gooseberry,’ is the edible berry of a woody vine in the genus Actinidia. The kiwifruit is often referred to simply as a ‘kiwi.’ Kiwifruit can be grown in most moderate temperature humid type climates with adequate summer heat. Most typically, kiwifruit is grown commercially on sturdy support structures or trellises. The kiwi vine can produce several tons per hectare, which is usually more than its rather weak vines can support, without the additional trellises. Conventionally, the trellises can be equipped with a watering system for irrigation and frost protection.
The cultivation of kiwifruit can be challenging away from humid environments. Efforts to grow and produce some of the most desirable varieties of kiwifruit in warmer and drier climates have failed, almost universally. There is a need of an improved cultivation system for kiwifruit, as well as for any delicate fruit variety cultivated in outdoor orchards, which provides a growing environment better suited to these delicate fruit varieties that are subject to damage due to growing conditions outside their narrow optimal range of temperature and humidity.
The following is a disclosure of the present invention that will be understood by reference to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.